1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wheel assembly, and more particularly to a wheel assembly with a brake device having a simplified structure and being easily assembled.
2. Description of Related Art
To make an object, such as a suitcase, a buggy, a cart or a buffet car to move freely, multiple wheel assemblies are mounted on the bottom of the object. Furthermore, a conventional wheel assembly may be provided with a brake device to slow down the movement of the object. With reference to FIG. 5, a conventional wheel assembly with a brake device (73) in accordance with the prior art comprises a wheel bracket (70), a connecting base (71), a wheel (76) and a brake device (73). The connecting base (71) is rotatably mounted on the wheel bracket (70) to connect with a moveable object and has a bottom provided with multiple teeth (72). The wheel (76) is rotatably mounted on the wheel bracket (70) with an axle. The brake device (73) is mounted on the wheel bracket (70), corresponds to the wheel (76) and comprises a brake plate (75) and pushbutton (74). The brake plate (75) is pivotally attached to the bottom of the wheel bracket (70) with a pivot and has a first end, a second end and an abutting tab (751). The first end of the brake plate (75) corresponds to the wheel (76), and the second end of the brake plate (75) has teeth (752) selectively engaging with the teeth (72) on the connecting base (71). The abutting tab (751) laterally extending from the brake plate (75) near the pivot and abuts against the bottom of the wheel bracket (70). The pushbutton (74) is pivotally attached to the wheel bracket (70) and has a protrusion (741) corresponding to the first end of the brake plate (75).
When the pushbutton (74) is pressed, the first end of the brake plate (75) will be pushed to abut against the wheel (76) by the protrusion (741) such that a brake effect is provided. At the same time, the second end of the brake plate (75) moves upward to make the teeth (752) engage with the teeth (72) on the connecting base (71) to provide a positioning device to the connecting base (71).
However, to pivotally attach the brake plate (75) on the wheel bracket (70) with the pivot is troublesome and time-consuming.
With reference to FIG. 6, another conventional wheel assembly in accordance with the prior art comprises a wheel bracket (80), a connecting base (81), a wheel (86) and a brake device (82). The brake device (82) comprises a brake plate (84), a torsion spring (85) and a pushbutton (83). The brake plate (84) is pivotally mounted on the wheel bracket (80) with a pivot, and the torsion spring (85) is mounted around the pivot and has two ends abutting respectively against the wheel bracket (80) and the brake plate (84). The pushbutton (83) is pivotally attached to the wheel bracket (80) and abuts with the brake plate (84). When the pushbutton (83) is pressed, the brake plate (84) is pushed to abut against the wheel (86) to provide a brake effect.
However, the conventional wheel assembly has a complex structure and is difficult to assemble.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a wheel assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.